A Detailed Guide to Repotting, Soil Changing and Growing Succulent Plants

1. Washing the roots

Make sure the soil carried on the roots is basically rinsed off. This is because it very likely contains a large number of insect eggs and bacteria. Be gentle when washing; some root damage is unavoidable, but keep it to a minimum. You can hold the roots in a basin of water and shake them back and forth. It is recommended not to turn on the faucet and rinse with a very strong stream of water, as this will break off a large number of roots. Repeat the shaking and soaking several times until the white main roots are visible.

2. Trimming the roots

Cut off the diseased roots and dead roots that have turned black or even become nothing but empty shells. Also appropriately trim away the lateral roots that have grown too long and become heavily tangled, in order to encourage new fibrous roots to grow. This will make the whole root system look evenly distributed and neat. After root trimming, the newly regrown root system will be strengthened, making the plant grow more robustly. If you do not feel confident, you can also skip the trimming; it does not matter, as long as you remove the dead roots and diseased roots.

3. At this point the roots will definitely have some damage, so next they need to be soaked for about one hour in a prepared sterilising solution. Carbendazim, chlorothalonil and thiophanate-methyl can all be used. Do not mix the concentration too high; you can soak several plants in one small washbasin.

4. After the sterilisation step is done, dry the plant roots. Note that this means air drying naturally. Generally, you can repot the same day.

5. Prepare the growing medium in advance and disinfect it.

6. Choose a good flower pot and spray it once with a sterilising agent. Personally, I recommend that for succulents of the Crassulaceae family, a ceramic pot is the best match. For Haworthia, you can choose resin or plastic containers. If you are an "appearance above all" person, then you can choose a porcelain pot, but it must have a hole at the bottom. As for things like ironware or woven rattan baskets, do not even consider them; rust and mould will drive you crazy when the time comes. At the beginning it may not be obvious, but after a while you will understand; it is basically sending the succulent plant into the tiger's mouth. Do not let your imagination run wild and then end up swallowing the bitter fruit yourself!

7. Put the disinfected growing medium into the flower pot; the principle is: large particles at the bottom layer, small particles at the top layer. The particle size of the growing medium gradually decreases from bottom to top. This is good for drainage.